Ancient Strengthening Techniques
Chapter 34 - Iaido
Qing Shui diligently began his training to master the path of Iaido, he stood there as a shadow of a sword shadow flashed across his mind as he visualized the simplest sword movement.
After he was exhausted, Qing Shui would rest and drink water from the pond, eat the hunted beasts and even read his books. There were several times where Qing Shui was tempted to pluck the Energy Enhancement Fruit and eat it, but every time he saw the glittering red color of the fruit, he would involuntarily reject the idea. This subconscious rejection was not born from the fear that/it the fruit would be poisonous, but the real reason was unknown to Qing Shui.
’Why rush? There is always time, let's wait a while longer before I consume the Energy Enhancement Fruit. ” Qing Shui decided to temporarily suspend the idea when he started reading [[Continental Medical Annal]], [[10,000 Herbal Encyclopedia]]] and [[Herbal Combination Formula]]] again. This was already the second time he had read it, not to mention the fact that/that he had already memorized all the contents in all three books! However, regardless of that, Qing Shui knew that/that he only stopped reading when he had reached the point to form an opinion regarding the theory behind its contents! It is only when he reaches the point to form his own opinion that/that he will be able to review the old and gain new knowledge. Only then would he be qualified to become a teacher!
Of course, he did not neglect [[Swarf Basic Technique]], in fact, practicing his sword techniques became the main point of Qing Shui's focus during this period of time. If the people of the World of the Nine Continents knew that/it Qing Shui was so obsessed and spent so much time and effort in mastering some sort of simple movement of pulling the sword and returning it back to its sheath, it would be very difficult, they would definitely call him a stupid lunatic.
Qing Shui was endlessly practicing the Iaido Technique, he must have already reached the point of executing it hundreds of thousands to millions of times. The practice became perfect, Qing Shui firmly believed that/it was as long as he practiced this series of simple sword moves for several hundred million times, he would definitely turn this ordinary-looking technique into something magical!
What Qing Shui wanted, was exactly the effect of turning something ordinary into something magical! Because [[Basic Sword Techniques], forming the foundation of all sword users, as long as one diligently practiced the basics to the top, the foundation they built would be strong and solid. This would allow them to reach greater and higher heights on the way of the sword in the future!
Another month passed, within the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal Qing Shui had already practiced the Iaido technique for 3 years, only Qing Shui had this way of thinking. Only with enough determination would one be willing to spend a lot of time and effort on something like this.
From time to time he practiced a special movement of drawing and returning. Qing Shui had no idea how many logs he had broken over time. At first, the wooden stick he used was only as thin as a thumb. However, as he improved further, the wooden stick he used started to become thicker and thicker and now, it was the size of a wrist!
Each time, he practiced the Iaido Technique, the amount of friction resulting from the force of movement would be too difficult for ordinary wood staff to handle. Qing Shui had to search for food for a long time before he found the rare Scryrius Ironwood and made it into a sword. The Scryrius Ironwood is famous for its toughness. Back when he was in the Qing Clan, he remembered seeing furniture made from this type of wood, which was why he recognized this material when he saw it.
However, what Qing Shui didn't know was that/it was other than furniture, there were many other weapons out there that were made from Scryrius Ironwood.
After finding it, Qing Shui decided to practice against something, instead of just practicing a solo set of simple movements, He stood on a high mountain peak, observing all four directions, instead of just practicing a simple set of movements, trying to find a good location for his sword practice. It's August now. The climate turned cold, but despite wearing only thin clothes, Qing Shui was not at all afraid of the cold. His constitution had increased to such an extent that, even if he was half-naked, the cold would not bother him.
Qing Shui nonchalantly and casually stepped down the mountain, trying to find a suitable place. He passed a hill where there was a giant tree, so great that/it would require many people to join hands before they could embrace him. A gentle breeze blew gently, making the yellowing and reddish leaves start fluttering in the air, falling from the branches of the tree and landing on the ground.
Instinctively, Qing Shui executed the Iaido technique and pierced the leaves with the wooden sword he had from Scryrius Ironwood. After this, he continued to pierce the leaves. The second leaf, the third leaf .. but in the end, there were still many leaves that fell to the ground.
Qing Shui's current weapon was a wooden sword made from Scryrius Ironwood, it looked simple and crude, but one could not question its toughness. Before this, he had used a stick to practice sword techniques .. However, in the end, a staff was still on staff and unable to bring out the essence behind the sword arts. So Qing Shui, using his tyrannical power, had made a stick into the shape of a sword!
Qing Shui momentarily paused and extended his left hand, sending a punch to the giant tree trunk. After which, the impact caused many leaves to swing down from the sky as he swung the wooden sword and attacked them.
In the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, other than practicing her sword techniques, she had also trained her Ghost Steps. Now, using the unfathomable Ghostly Steps technique in his footwork, Qing Shui was like a fish in water, moving smoothly between the leaves as he stabbed towards them from a different angle.
Qing Shui spent all his time punching the giant tree and then attacking the fallen leaves, only after the poor tree was completely devoid of leaves did he move in search of another giant tree.
In the middle of his search, he finds a large bird that tries to ambush him. Of course, this bird was neither as local nor as bright as the white-headed Condor Inky Jade before. After finding an ambush attempt, with just one strike, Qing Shui executed the Iaido Technique and pierced through the head of the huge bird. Despite the heartbreaking injuries, the huge bird still managed to fly. It was because his sword was currently made from a staff. Its length left much to be desired, and it was unable to penetrate all the way to the brain of the great bird.
Qing Shui sighed, the length of this sword was too short, if he had a bigger and longer sword, he was absolutely certain that/that he would be able to kill the bird earlier. His current sword could be considered the same as a mosquito bite. No matter how persistent a mosquito bite is, it still cannot kill a person!
Especially when it came to beasts with large stature, it would be extremely difficult for Qing Shui to kill them with a single strike to the head with his current sword. Conversely, if the opponent he was facing was human, he was sure that/that he would have no problems at all.
As time passed and all the surrounding trees were stripped naked because of Qing Shui. Qing Shui knew that/it was time for him to return to the Qing Clan.
Qing Shui had left the house for almost half a year! It'll be November soon. For the past half a year or so, all of the surrounding leaves had been used as target practice for Qing Shui's sword technique.
” One more month is enough for me to immediately return to Qing Village, ” Qing Shui exclaimed.
This decision to leave Qing Village was the right one, thus having benefited from Qing Shui. The greatest benefit Qing Shui received was not from his mastery of the Iaido Technique but the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal! After months of difficult practice, Qing Shui had reached a frightening level with regards to the way his sword was. Among the thousands of fallen leaves, if one looked closely, one would find a gap made by the sword stab in the middle of each leaf. Moreover, if Qing Shui wished, he could fuse all the leaves with the Iaido technique, letting no one touch the ground. [1]
This was the region where Qing Shui's sword mastery had been achieved! The total amount of time he spent could be considered almost 10 years! As the saying goes, ’10 years to train a sword ‘, he took exactly 10 years to master this single technique, profound in simplicity!
Other than using 2 hours every day to cultivate within the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, the rest of his time was used for traveling. Looking at all the majestic mountains surrounding him, QShui could not help but feel that/it was a human being too trivial. Qing Shui drove towards Qing Village as he could not wait to return home.
The Ancient Strengthening Technique, still stuck at the 48th cycle, no matter what he did, he was unable to break through the bottleneck. Despite this failure, Qing Shui was extremely excited. He believed that/that as long as he could reach the 49th cycle, then he would break through the 4th heavenly layer of the Ancient Strengthening Technique!
During the night, after ending the cultivation practice within the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, Qing Shui helplessly sighed, no matter what he did he was unable to budge in the slightest .. there was no hope of him breaking through!
At this moment, he tilted his head and looked towards the 10 gleaming blood red fruits hanging on the Energy Enhancer Tree.
’’Maybe it's time for me to consume the Energy Enhancement Fruit?’
